Podcast 126: Placebos and Medical ‘Meaning’

Last week’s New England Journal of Medicine paper on the placebo effect in evaluating asthma treatments was fascinating in itself. The editorial that accompanied it, however, was a delight. It asks clinicians to think less about laboratory measures of cure, and more about the patient’s satisfaction with treatment — whether the treatment was “real” or not.

This week’s guest, Dr. Daniel Moerman, wrote that editorial. His training in anthropology adds a refreshing viewpoint to his observations on clinical medicine. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

Relevant links:

• Physician’s First Watch coverage of the NEJM paper
• Two acupuncture papers mentioned by Moerman in his interview (and cited in his editorial):

1. Cherkin et al.
2. Haake et al.

• Franz Ingelfinger’s essay, “Arrogance”
• Moerman & Jonas paper from Annals of Internal Medicine

The post Podcast 126: Placebos and Medical ‘Meaning’ first appeared on Clinical Conversations.